Close to Eden - URGA - Teaching Notes - Brief Article

Radical Teacher, Spring, 2003 by Jane Holzka

By Nikita Mikhalkov. In Russian and Mongolian with English subtitles. 109 minutes. Miramax Home Video.

Set in the steppes of Mongolia, the Russian-made Close to Eden has a classical story structure. A family of shepherds living in a yurta are tempted by the fruits of modernization. At the urging of his wife Pagma, Gombo sets out for the city to buy a television and condoms. What follows is a comic meditation on the costs and benefits of modern living.

I showed this film to my world geography students in a diverse working-class community college. Following the movie, I designated one blackboard "tradition" and the other "modernity" and passed around chalk. Students wrote things they viewed as traditional and modern on the blackboards. A lively discussion ensued as they defended their choices.

"Why did you put apples on the modern board?"

"I didn't see any apple trees there. That means those apples came by plane or truck."

"How come their family is on both boards?"

"Well, it's an extended family, so it's traditional. And the whole family works together, which is also traditional. But Gombo really respects Pagma, which is very modern."

"How do you know that isn't traditional in Mongolia?"

The film offers opportunities to discuss gender issues, child-rearing practices, family planning, modernization, ecology, and cultural dominance. Moreover, it offers students a picture of a sustainable economy in its final hours. Students must wonder whether the road that destroys Gombo and Pagma's land is a worthwhile price to pay for television and condoms.